The Lekki Concession Company, operators of the Lekki toll gate where soldiers allegedly shot live rounds at #EndSARS protesters on the night of October 20, 2020; has submitted video footage of the incident recorded by its surveillance camera to the Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up by the Lagos State Government.

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The video was submitted by the Managing Director of LCC, Abayomi Omomuwa, on Tuesday to the Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up by the Lagos State Government to probe the Lekki shootings as well as complaints of human rights abuses against members of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS.

Omomuwa said, “I can confirm that inside here is the video footage that our surveillance camera was able to record for the 20th of October.”

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LCC submits footage of Lekki shootings to judicial panel

The Senate on Tuesday grilled the Minister of information, Lai Mohammed, over a controversial project fully funded by the Ministry of Finance for execution by his Ministry in the 2020 fiscal year.

The project, which was tagged ERPG 10145116, and listed as ‘completion of NTA Gashua sub-station ongoing’, had its allocation of N250m fully released to the Ministry of Information.

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The Minister led other top officials of his Ministry to the Senate on Tuesday to defend 2021 budget estimates for the ministry.

Abdullahi Sankara, the Chairman, Senate Committee on information, insisted that Lai Mohammed has a lot of explaining to do concerning the project. This was because the payment of N250m was 100 per cent release of funds without any work commensurate to the full releases done on sight.

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The controversy over the project started when Lai Mohammed explained that the project was sponsored by a lawmaker as a constituency project and inserted the same into his Ministry’s 2020 budget.

Senators present at the panel subsequently took strong exception to Mohammed’s explanation. The lawmakers took turns to query the Minister over the project, insisting that it was not a constituency project.

Senate grills Lai Mohammed over N250m project

A federal high court in Abuja has arraigned Babatunde Adesanya and Akinpelu Abass for allegedly defrauding the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia of €2.3 million COVID-19 funds.

The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, represented the federal government at the arraignment of the suspects on a 10-count charge, on Monday, before Anwuli Chikere, judge of the federal high court.

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The suspects, Adesanya, a 50-year-old master’s degree holder in cell biology, and Abass, 41-year-old managing director of Musterpoint Investment Nigeria Limited, were reportedly arrested by the cybercrime unit of the Nigerian Police Force and INTERPOL in September.

They allegedly cloned the corporate website of ILBN Holdings BV, Holland, to defraud one Freiherr Fredrick Von Hahn, a representative of the German state.

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According to a statement released by police spokesman, Frank Mba, in September, investigations revealed that the suspects collaborated with one Eduardus Boomstra and Geradius Maulder, their Holland-based cohorts, “specialised in identity theft, cyber-stalking, cloning of corporate websites amongst other cyber mischiefs to defraud unsuspecting members of the public across the world”.

“In this instance, the suspects fraudulently obtained from Mr Freiherr Fredrick Von Hahn the sum of 1.5m Euro and another 880,000 Euro as advanced payment for the supply of COVID-19 PPE valued at 14.7million Euros,” Mba said.

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When the PPE failed to be delivered, the German representative visited the corporate office of ILBN Holdings BV in Holland to seek reasons for the delay in supplying the items. He was then told the company never did business with him and that the transaction was a scam.

Consequently, the case was reported to the police in Holland and this led to the arrest of Boomstra and Maulder in Holland, and the investigations extended to Nigeria.

FG arraigns two Nigerians for ‘defrauding German state of €2.3m COVID-19 funds’

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced that it has withheld the results of 215,149 candidates of the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Nigeria.

This was disclosed by the head of WAEC Nigeria, Patrick Areghan, at a briefing in Lagos on Monday morning as he announced the official release of this year’s WASSCE results.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, WAEC releases SSCE results today

According to Areghan, the withheld results, which make up 13.98 percent of the total number of candidates who wrote the exams, are being investigated for different cases of examination malpractice.

“The cases are being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate Committee of the Council for determination in due course. The Committee’s decisions will be communicated to the affected candidates through their various schools,” he said.

“81,718 candidates, representing 5.31% have a few of their subjects still being processed due to some errors on the part of the candidates. Efforts are, however, being made to speedily complete the processing to enable all the affected candidates get their results fully processed and released, subsequently.”

Areghan also disclosed that out of a total of 1,549,740 that registered for the examination, 1,538,445 candidates wrote the exam, and of these, 1,338,348 — representing 86.99 percent — obtained credit and above in a minimum of any five subjects (i.e with or without English Language and/ or Mathematics).

“1,003,668 candidates, representing 65.24%, obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics,” he added.

“Of this number 497,139 i. e. 49.53% were male candidates, while 506,529 i.e. 50.47% were female candidates. The percentage of candidates in this category in the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2019, that is, those who obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, was 64.18%. Thus, there is a marginal 1.06% improvement in performance in this regard.”

Areghan informed candidates, whose results have been fully processed and released, that their certificates will be ready within the next 90 days.

The Kaduna government has commenced a house-to-house operation in a bid to find looted COVID-19 palliatives in the state.

The operation, which is to be carried out the police and other security agencies, was announced by the governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, in a tweet on Tuesday.

HAVE YOU READ THIS? Kwara arrests 144 suspects arrested for ‘looting’

It will be recalled that over the past week, there has been a spate looting of public and private properties across the country.

The office of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Kaduna was one of the affected places in Kaduna.

Apart from stealing doors and office equipment, the Kaduna government said the mob also carted away “expired and dangerous” drugs.

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Governor El-Rufai stressed that his administration would bring everyone who has stolen any item to justice because stealing and destruction of property will not be tolerated in Kaduna.

“KADUNA UPDATE: We intend to bring each and everyone of them to justice,” the governor tweeted.

“Stealing and destruction of property in the guise of #EndSARS will not be tolerated in Kaduna State. Thanks.”

Kaduna begins house-to-house search for looted palliatives

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has blacklisted an Indian company for allegedly manufacturing fake drugs for a pharmaceutical company in Lagos.

According to NAFDAC, the company illegally manufactured variations of ciprofloxacin tablets, instead of the approved formulation for export to Nigeria.

This was made public by the Director-General of NAFDAC, Moji Adeyeye, in a statement released on Monday. Adeyeye said that NAFDAC had forthwith banned the importation of all drugs manufactured by the Indian company.

HAVE YOU READ THIS? Plateau gives looters 48 hours to return looted palliatives

She said, “NAFDAC has blacklisted Mars Remedies PVT Limited, India, for the manufacture of falsified ciprofloxacin tablets BP 500mg (NAFDAC REG. NO C4-0498) for Pinnacle Health Pharmaceutical Ltd, Surulere, Lagos.

“In view of the unprofessional practice, all products manufactured by Mars Remedies PVT LTD will not be allowed into Nigeria with immediate effect.”

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Also, in a letter dated October 9, 2020 addressed to the Managing Director of Mars Remedies PVT Limited, and entitled, ‘Notice of blacklisting as a manufacturer of substandard and falsified medicines’, Adeyeye reiterated the agency’s position of zero tolerance for substandard and falsified medicines preponderance in Nigeria “in fulfillment of the regulatory obligation of safeguarding the health of the nation.”

Adeyeye added that the variation in the formulation of the ciprofloxacin 500mg tablets, which may impact on the quality and shelf-life, was not approved by NAFDAC before the changes were made.

NAFDAC blacklists Indian company for drug falsification

The Plateau State Government has announced a 48 hours grace for looters to return stolen COVID-19 palliatives in their possession or risk being arrested.

It will be recalled that a warehouse storing COVID-19 palliatives in Bukuru community, Jos South LGA of Plateau state was looted on Saturday.

HAVE YOU READ THIS? We did NOT hoard COVID-19 palliatives – Governors

Reacting to the incident on Monday, the State Police Command described the act as criminal, and stressed that the looters should return the stolen palliatives before Wednesday.

This was disclosed by the acting Spokesman of the State Police Command, Donbey Peters in a statement released on Monday.

The statement read in part, “Sequel to the ugly occurrences that bedevilled some parts of the state particularly Jos North and Jos South LGAs, the Commissioner of Police Plateau State Command, CP Edward Egbuka, has condemned in totality the breaking and looting into government warehouses, shops and private houses of individuals by hoodlums and other criminals within Jos and Bukuru metropolis under the guise of #EndSARS protests.

“He described it as an act of criminality aimed at truncating the tireless efforts of the police and other security agencies on the Plateau. This has led to the arrest of over a hundred persons.

“He stated that the Government of Plateau State is giving these looters the grace to return immediately, every looted item to the nearest local government office not later than Wednesday 28/10/2020. Anyone found in possession of any looted item after this date will be arrested and brought to book.”

Furthermore, the statement also reminded the public that the 24-hour curfew imposed by the government is still in place and cautioned the public against disobedience.

Plateau gives looters 48 hours to return looted palliatives

Some unknown gunmen have reportedly kidnapped the Chairman, Iganna Local Council Development Area of Oyo State, Mr Olayiwola Adeleke.

It was gathered that Adeleke was kidnapped along with his driver on Sunday night while they were travelling along the Okeho-Ado Awaye road to Ibadan for a meeting scheduled to hold with the state governor.

At the time of this report, the details of the incident were still sketchy. However, the Police Public Relations Officer, Oyo State Command, Olugbenga Fadeyi, has confirmed the incident.

He said, “Information reaching me reveals that he was kidnapped along the Ado Aw aye- Iseyin Road. Efforts are being intensified to get him released and arrest the culprits.”

In addition, the Chairman, Oodua Peoples Congress in Oyo State, Mr Rotimi Olumo, also confirmed the abduction of the council chairman along Iseyin-Okeho route.

He said, “I have called my people and they said they had started combing the forests in the area in search of him.”

BREAKING: Gunmen abduct Oyo LG head, Adeleke

The Surulere Police Division is currently under attack by hoodlums. This is happening after a policemen reportedly opened fire on peaceful protesters, killing no less than two people. 

At least three officers have been shot in the attack.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, Makinde tells Police to take back seat, leave protests

BREAKING: Lagos police station under attack

Peaceful protesters demanding the dissolution of the SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad) unit of the Nigeria police have been attacked with gunshots and teargas canisters in Abuja.

This was made known via a series of tweets by protesters from the scene. Some of the tweets are gathered below: 

@EdoFirstLady: “The police have chased us all with teargas and guns. Everywhere is in shambles.”

@OmoGbajabiamila,“Protesters on their way to Police Force Headquarters have just been attacked by police officers with multiple teargas canisters shot into the crowd.” 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT,#EndSARS Protests rock cities across Nigeria

@BrianJDenis said: “Police officers have opened fire at us with live bullets at Central Area, Abuja. Some people are injured because of panic."

ALSO TRENDING, #EndSARS Protesters besiege Lagos Assembly overnight

Protesters across Nigeria have been demanding an end to police tactical squads that have since gone rogue and now impudently extort and harass people. There have been protests against police brutality in major cities including Lagos, Ibadan, Benin City, Enugu, Owerri, and Port Harcourt.

The protests across the country have been generally peaceful, even though there have been a few tense moments between the protesters and security agencies. 

Police teargas and shoot at #EndSARS protesters in Abuja

Senator Elisha Abbo, a lawmaker representing Adamawa North, has appealed the judgment delivered by a Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, which ordered him to pay N50m as compensation to Osimibibra Warmate for physically assaulting her in her shop.

Abbo had been caught on video assaulting Warmate at a sex toy shop in Wuse 2, Abuja in 2019. And although the senator had first won the criminal case instituted against him by the police before a Chief Magistrate Court in Zuba, in a turn of events, Justice Samira Bature of the FCT High Court ruled against him in a separate civil suit instituted by Warmate and ordered him to pay N50m and publish an apology to the applicant.

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Subsequently however, the lawmaker has filed a notice of appeal, insisting that the facts of the case disclosed an “alleged tort of simple assault” and not torture or inhuman treatment, hence the fundamental rights procure was an inappropriate means of seeking redress.

The notice of appeal read in part, “That the appellant being dissatisfied with the decision of the High Court of the FCT as contained in its ruling and orders in Suit No CV/2393/2019 delivered on the 28th day of September, 2020 by Hon. Justice S.U Bature, do hereby appeal to the Court of Appeal, Abuja.”

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The 41 year old lawmaker who is the youngest senator in the country, anchored his appeal on three premises. He said the judge erred in law when he dismissed his preliminary objection to the effect that the suit was not recognisable under Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution and the fundamental rights enforcement procedure.

He said the facts of the case were contentious and could not be determined via affidavit evidence.

Abbo also stated that the trial judge erred when he held that the applicant had proved her case as required by law whereas the evidence was not in her favour.

He further stated that the court granting N50m compensation to the applicant was “excessive.”

Abbo also filed a motion for stay of execution requesting “an order of this honourable court staying the execution of the judgment/decision of this honourable court delivered on September 28, 2020 in Suit CV/2393/2019 pending the hearing and determination of the appeal against same.”

Sen. Abbo appeals N50m judgement, says his offence only a ‘simple assault’

The Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun has received heavy criticism for gifting the winner of the 2020 edition of the popular reality TV show, Big Brother Naij , Olamilekan Agbelesebioba, (aka Laycon), a sum of N5miillion and a 3-bedroom bungalow.

There were reports that Laycon visited the governor's office at Okemosan, Abeokuta on Tuesday, where he met the governor and other top government officials.

Governor Abiodun, who gave updates of the visit on his social media handles, said, “We have appointed the winner of the Big Brother Naija Lockdown, @itslaycon Youth Ambassador of Ogun State in addition to house and cash gifts. I relayed this development today, when I played host to Olamilekan Moshood Agbelesebioba, AKA Laycon in my Oke-Mosan office in Abeokuta.

“The appointment and gifts are a celebration of Laycon’s good character, intellect and virtues which were proven to the whole world on live TV as better choices than vices.

“A proud son of Ogun State, Laycon displayed the essence of focus in the face of temptations and provocations. This is the true Ogun State spirit, and it indeed confirms that this earned him his academic achievement at the University of Lagos.”

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However, in recent developments, indigenes of Ogun state and Nigerians in general, have expressed their displeasure with the decision of the governor, especially since Laycon already won a grand prize of N85million in the show.

The Governor's announcement was greeted with many negative reactions as people accused him of having misplaced priorities. Some of the comments gathered are compiled below:

Fadhilah Adewunmi: “This is pathetically disappointing. Big Brother Housemates are now the role models the youth should emulate. What moral etiquette has BBNaija taught the youth? Big shame and disappointment to this direction-less governor.”

Aderanti Adebayor: “Mr Governor, please don’t encourage mediocrity and stupidity, rather make credibility and excellence your watchword. Bbnaija is good, but it’s not the best way to encourage viable and productive youths. Be more progressive in your approach.”

Chuk Zach: “This is very disappointing, what was the moral or societal benefit of the BBNaija that warranted the winner this state government appointment? I bet you have never given such recognition to best graduating students or those who have even served well in the society. I am totally disappointed. How do you encourage people to study, make research and make life more meaning for all? DISAPPOINTED!”

Funmilayo Ogedengbe-Oresile: “This is totally a disgrace to the Ogun State Government. Do you know how many brilliant citizens of Ogun State are out there suffering, that can’t even get a living? Some are wandering around to get school fees, while some had graduated years ago with good grades but nothing to do as a living. Does it mean education is not the best legacy any longer? Why do we embrace immorality over education? What lesson does the just concluded BBNaija input in the lives of the youth or what impact does it have over the nation? It’s better you look for something doing rather than doing rubbish.”

Kolawole Fadeyi: “Oga, you better stop your unnecessary wasting of the taxpayers money. All our roads are bad, people are facing hardship in the state. Anyway, the remaining two years will determine your position and history will not be kind to you.”

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Olubunmi Samuel: “This year overall best students in JETS competition throughout Nigeria were not recognized by the governor despite making the state proud. So it’s those set of people that locked themselves up in a room engaging in every form of immoral acts that can inspire the Governor?”

Oduwole Abdul-Rasaq: “What value does BBN bring to society? With abandoned projects still many in Ogun state, that N5m can do something on J4 to Waterside road.”

Taiwo Sulaimon: “What a waste of Ogun State money! You should be ashamed of yourself. You don’t give productive people cash gift. You are a disgrace Mr Governor.”

Mathew Godspeed: “This is highly unacceptable. BBN hasn’t contributed anything positive to the lives of Nigeria youths, instead it kills our morals. There are hardworking youths out there working ceaselessly for a better future, but you didn’t even bother to appreciate them.”

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Adigun Akeem: “BBNaija is now a measure of intelligence. What are we promoting? I’m jealous of his luck but I don’t think this kind of program should be recognized by a government. Mothers start to go and make juju for their children to be chosen for the stupid show.”

Eri Arojah: “Hmmmm… Well, if Mr Governor can go to higher institutions to see so many students who are unable to pay school fees, you won’t dash out 5 million to someone that is rich already. Nigeria will always be Nigeria; we are suffering seriously. This is not your promise, Mr Governor.”

It will be recalled that the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, once called for the replacement of BBNaija with a more beneficial programme. Oba Ogunwusi said the show misrepresents the goodness of the Nigerian youths.

BBNaija: Gov Abiodun faces backlash for giving Laycon N5m, 3-bedroom flat

Nigerian newspapers,on one page.